


In the Heart of Darkness

by sanstaedium



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, F/M, I AM SORRY, not likely to be finished
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-05-01 23:43:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5225720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanstaedium/pseuds/sanstaedium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a human falls into the Underground with no memory of their past timelines, they encounter a world full of human-hunting monsters and must find their way to survival. Heavily inspired by TacitLady's "No Funny Business" work for Undertale. Seriously check it out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Human

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [No Funny Business](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5085979) by [outindaylight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/outindaylight/pseuds/outindaylight). 



> Hey guys! So this is my first published work ever, and I'm a little nervous. Regardless, I will try to update at least once a week, but I'm aiming for twice. This will fluctuate according to the soul-sucking vortex that is school. Again, this is inspired by another work named "No Funny Business" by TacitLady. Very amazing piece of fanfiction.

You woke up on yellow flowers.

They almost glowed in the blackness of the cavern. You pushed yourself up, but a sharp pang in your chest brought you back down on your face. A small whimper escaped you as you buried your head in the velvety petals. After most of the pain has subsided to an ache, you flipped yourself around to face up.

Taking deep breaths, each one straining your bruised chest, you tried to think straight. You had fallen down, and somehow not died. This didn’t make any sense. Far above you, the stars twinkled faintly. Moonlight filtered down through the hole, to be reflected on the golden petals surrounding you.

_What was this?_

Your second attempt to get up was painful, but successful. Rubbing your eyes, you adjusted to the gloom of the cave. There was an opening, just down a little farther.

You hobbled your way towards the dull light of the opening, wondering why there was light down here at all. Stepping into another cavern type place, you noticed a small piece of dirt lit by a faint ray of moonlight. There was a flower there, like the ones you had fallen onto, but a little bigger.

You approached the flower. It seemed to be…

“Huh? W-who are you?” The flower said.

You stepped back, mouth gaping. Did the flower just…

“Oh no… You're human aren’t you?” The flower’s face, it had a face, took on an expression of concern.

“W-what?” you breathed, nearly inaudible.

“Look, you’ve got to get out of here. You don’t understand what they’ll do to you…”

The flower looked up at you alarmed, but then paused, confusion crossing its face.

“Hey, are you okay?”

You took another deep breath, and tried to find words.

“W-what’s going on?” you asked, trying to keep your voice smooth. “Where am I?” Why am I talking to a flower?

“You're in the Underground. Don’t you know about this place?” The flower inquired, its eyebrows knitted.

You shook your head.

“Geez, you’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

-

“So, why are you here?” you asked the flower, fiddling with your bootlace.

Flowey, the flower also had a name, had filled you in on the barrier, the monsters and their not so friendly opinion of humans. It was all... too much to take in. But you didn’t feel like you had a choice. You could contemplate reality later.

“I had nowhere else to go.” he said, looking away. “I’m not exactly a celebrity back there, and there’s no way I could get through the barrier. I’ve been for a long time, warning each human that has fallen down.”

You stared down at the ground, only able to imagine what he had gone through to try to save the six that had come before you.

“I could take you with me.” you offered.

It was possible that you were trusting him too much, for being the only thing you had actually met down here, but you really didn’t feel like he was lying to you. You felt like you needed to protect him.

He looked at you for a second, mouth parted. This had never occurred to him.

“Really?” The flower shook his head, looking down again. “No, that’s… that’s too dangerous. You can’t carry me around, I’d slow you down. You have to get out of this place as fast as you can.”

You thought for a second, ignoring his words, then started unlacing your left boot.

“Would you mind if I…?” you gestured to your boot.

Flowey stared at you, and for a second you thought you had offended him.

“Well… I guess that could work.” He looked at the boot. “But I’m still going to weigh you down, Y/N.”

“You’re a flower. And besides, I’ll need help navigating, right?.”

_And I don’t want to lose the only trust I have down here._

You smiled at the flower, taking a handful of loose soil and packing it into the boot. Flowey watched as you carefully dug around his roots, and lifted him.

“There you go.” You pushed the dirt in firmly.

Standing up, you picked up the boot and tied the laces securely around your neck. You laughed. This actually worked well. You made sure Flowey was comfortable, and headed down into the tunnel.

You two eventually found yourselves in a lit corridor. Vines crawled over the dark pink walls, emitting an odd air that unsettled you.

“These are the Ruins, Y/N… They’re mostly deserted, we just need to be careful.”

You nodded and nervously continued down the path. Flowey had told you about the monsters, but it was always different coming face to face with something.

Which is what you did as you rounded the next corner.

The frog-like thing hopped back a step when you nearly collided with it, but then, realizing what you were, jumped at you. You barely dodged, spinning around to face the monster. You put your hands up in a passive signal.

_I’m not going to hurt you, damn it._

You could’ve sworn the frog stopped and looked at you funny. Its next leap was easier to miss, now that you knew it was coming. After a couple rounds of this, with Flowey yelling at you to dodge, you were beginning to tire.

_This thing is relentless._

Just as it was about to attack again, a fiery orb knocked it aside. You jumped back, watching the frog quickly hop out of sight. Spinning towards the source of the fire, you found a woman… with goat ears?

Looking closer, it wasn’t just her ears. She was some sort of humanoid goat, wearing a dark purple robe.

“Oh, how dreadful! Poor children…” the goat woman rushed towards you, clasping two furry paws together.

“Are you okay? That terrible creature did not hurt you did he?”

You backed away from her, taken back by her gleaming, yellow eyes.

The goat woman stared at the two of you in a tense silence, eyes flickering down to Flowey, and then to your missing boot.

“Oh! We must get you new shoes, my darling. You cannot very well run in those can you?”

You didn’t respond. It was true being half shoeless was a pain, but you were getting a strange feeling from this woman.

She took your hand with one soft, furry paw and placed the other on your cheek.

“Let us get you both somewhere safe. It is dangerous out here for two helpless children such as yourselves.” The goat woman smiled again, dark eyes gleaming.

\--


	2. A Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, I'm already getting responses from you guys so I figured I may as well post the second chapter. This one's super short anyway but guess who showed up?? Yep yep! Don't get too excited though. He's sort of an a**hole.

\--

Her house was in good condition, almost like it had been preserved. Flowey had been oddly quiet since you encountered Toriel. She had taken you through trap after trap, stressing just how lethal each one was. As she explained, she had kept a close eye on your reactions and an ever-tightening grip on your hand.

Now you stood in the main entrance of a fairly welcoming home. There was a strong scent of cinnamon in the air.

“Now, let me show you your room, young ones.”

Our room? Just how long does she expect us to stay here? And why did she seem so… prepared?

Toriel took a step towards the hall, but suddenly stopped and turned around.

“Why, I have forgotten to ask you your names!” She placed her large paws on your shoulders. “I do apologize! But it feels as if I already know you both.”

“My name is Y/N.” you mutter quietly.

Flowey took a moment, warily glancing at Toriel before looking away. “I’m Flowey.”

Toriel smiled. “Such lovely names for such innocent children.”

With that, she continued down the hall, stopping at the first door on the left.

“I do hope you will be happy here. You should both rest for now. I have a cinnamon-butterscotch pie in the oven that we will share later.”

Toriel patted your head, and lightly brushed Flowey’s petals. He moved away slightly at the touch. The goat woman gave another sickly-sweet smile and hurried off to the kitchen.

You tentatively opened the bedroom door. It was a child’s bedroom. It looked like everything had been set in place, like a museum. It felt staged. As you looked around the room, you were filled with a great sense of despair, This woman had lost someone. A child.

As uncomfortable as you were, you could feel exhaustion creeping into your mind. It would probably be best to take this opportunity to sleep. You untied Flowey’s boot from your neck, and set him on a bookcase.

“Are you alright?” you asked him.

Flowey looked at you with sad eyes, but replied “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

You decided not to push it right now. “I’m going to nap for just a bit. Wake me up if anything happens.”

Flowey nodded sullenly.

-

You woke up on yellow flowers.

You stood. The cavern was pitch black. You couldn’t see the tunnel you had gone through to find Flowey, or the hole in the mountain that you had fallen down. You couldn’t even see an inch in front of you.

Moving slowly, you stumbled through the darkness with your hands reaching out. Suddenly, you felt something brush against your fingers. It felt like cloth. You gasped and pulled back, but then cautiously reached out again to grasp the material. It was thick, fitting in both your palms as you ran your hands up, trying to figure out what it was. Realization dawned on you as your fingers found a zipper. Before you could take your hands back, you felt a strong grip around both of your wrists. You looked down, and panic rose as you found two skeletal hands locked around you.

You let out a cry of protest, trying to wrench your hands free. Your captor moved suddenly, a flash of red crossing your sight before you found yourself held against their solid frame, wrists now held by one hand behind you. Panic rose as you tried to break free, unsuccessfully.

“You shouldn’t have come back.” a deep, voice growled against your neck.

Your breath caught short as you felt a iron-hot pressure close around your throat. You felt your feet leave the ground, your back grinding up against the skeleton’s ribcage. Kicking your feet violently, you struggled for a last breath…

“Y/N! Y/N wake up!”

You jolted up off the bed. Sweat ran down your face as you gasped for oxygen. You locked eyes with Flowey, who had been screaming at you from the bookshelf. You ran your hands through your hair, gulping.

_Who was that?_

“What was that? Are you okay?” Flowey questioned you.

“I- I don’t know.” you breathed. “Th-there was a skeleton… I couldn’t breathe…”

You turned to Flowey, an expression of fear on his face.

“What?” you asked.

He looked away from you, and you got up.

“Flowey, do you know who I’m talking about?”

Meeting your eyes again, Flowey answered.

“Yes… I know him.”  
\--


	3. Grieving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm just figuring out that my chapters haven't been formatting like I want them to. I'll fix that asap but meanwhile here's Chapter 3. Hope you enjoy! Thank you all so much.

\--

You stared at Flowey, waiting for an explanation.

“Was there… red?” Flowey asked you quietly.

You nodded, eyebrows furrowed. You weren’t angry, you were scared. The Underground was proving to be more hostile than you had thought.

“Yeah.” Flowey breathed. “That was… Sans. I’ve fought him before. Or tried to at least. I could never make a dent on him. He made me reset more than anyone else ever could.”

You had almost forgotten Flowey once had the power to reset.

“You were fighting him?” you asked, confused. Flowey hadn’t mentioned anything about fighting anyone before. Now that you thought about, you didn’t really know all that much about him.

“I… back there, I didn’t tell you everything. Before I came to the Ruins, I was different. I wasn’t a flower. I was prince Asriel.”

You were even more confused now. You knew about the King, Asgore. But this whole Prince Asriel to Flowey thing wasn’t adding up.

Flowey looked at you. “It’s a little complicated. But anyways… I lived in the castle with my parents. One day, I found a human. Like you, she had fallen from the Surface. Her name was Chara.”

Flowey’s voice grew quiet and seemed full of something you couldn’t place.

“We took her in. Me, Asgore and… Toriel. Toriel was the queen, my mother.”

Your mouth opened, but you quickly closed it. It made sense now, why Flowey had been so quiet since Toriel had found you. You assumed she didn’t know who he truly was.

“Anyway. Me and Chara grew up to be best friends, but one day she got sick. She… she wanted to return to the Surface. To see the flowers. But we couldn’t cross the Barrier. She died under the mountain.”

Flowey’s voice was shaking, and he was turned away from you.

“When she died, I fused with her soul, and carried her body through the barrier. I took her to the village, and laid her in the flowers. You should’ve… seen it, Y/N.”

You stared at the floor, silent.

“But the villagers found me, kneeling over her. They attacked, and I couldn’t hold off. I took her back, through the barrier. I made it to the garden… where I died. My soul scattered across the flowers there, and fused again so..” he trailed off, looking down at the soil he was rooted in.

“My parents” he continued. “fell into grief. My father declared war on the Surface. But my mother left. She couldn’t hate humans after Chara. But I hid from them, from everyone once I took this form, and started wandering the Underground.”

“I saw them all change. They all started to hate the humans. But there was one in Snowdin who was… slower, I guess. Slower to hate. I approached him in the forest one day. I’m not sure what I wanted. I thought maybe if I could change one person’s mind, I would have done something.”

“He was reluctant at first, insisting that he hated the humans more than anyone else, but I came to know him. He was a good person, Papyrus. We talked in the forest almost everyday from then on, and I began to really believe I could change all their minds.”

Flowey turned back and looked at you.

“That’s when his brother found me. I was waiting for Papyrus one day as usual, but I came face to face with Sans instead. ‘So you’re the weed that’s been sweet-talking my brother, huh?’” Flowey mimicked. “And from there… it just gets bloody.” Flowey shook his head.

A shiver ran up your arms.

“I reset over and over again, until he finally let me go. Before he did though, he told me to remember something.”

You looked up at Flowey, who was staring you dead in the eyes.

“‘ _ **D o w n h e r e, i t ’ s k i l l o r b e k i l l e d**_.’”

You tensed. The words had taken on a dark, dual tone resounding in your head. You’d heard them before.

From the dream...

“So… that’s Sans.” Flowey stated dispassionately. “I’m sorry to scare you like that. You just need to know-”

“I’m alright.” you assured him, lying through your teeth a little too quickly.

Standing up and stretching your legs, you gave Flowey a smile. You had a feeling he knew you were making an effort.

“But, Flowey… I am sorry about Chara.” you offered. And you were.

It was his turn to give you a smile. “Don’t worry about it. We’re friends now, right?”

You nodded and really smiled that time.

“Well…” you continued after a brief silence, “are we ready to go, then?”

Flowey met your eyes and nodded. “She’s going to be hard to get through, Y/N. She won’t let you go easily.”

You secured Flowey around your neck, and stepped into the hall. The smell of cinnamon was even stronger.

“I know.” you said softly.

-

Toriel was in the kitchen. She turned to face you and Flowey, pulling a pie out of the oven.

“Oh! Already up? Did you sleep well, my child”

You nodded. Again with the lying.

Toriel smiled sweetly at you, then turned to slice the pie.

“So,” she said, “I have been preparing a curriculum for your educations. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, to tell the truth.”

Your heart sank. This was going to be hard.

“Toriel,” you said quietly, “We can’t stay here.”

You stopped there, and the silence grew.

“Oh, my child,” Toriel responded, a little mellower, “You don’t have to be so formal with me. You could call me ‘Tori’, or even… ‘mother’, if you wanted to.”

You stomach turned. Not out of disgust, but out of sadness. But you held fast. Flowey deserved to get to the Surface, and you couldn’t give up on him.

“I need to get back to the surface.” you continued, watching her reaction. That was a lie, too. You had no intention of going back.

She stood still for a moment, holding a plate up to the pie.

“Excuse me, children.” She set the plate down. “I have something I need to do.”

Toriel hurried out of the kitchen, and you followed. She disappeared down the stairs. Walking carefully, you found her at the end of the long hallway.

“Don’t try to stop me, my child. You don’t know what they’ll do to you.” Toriel’s voice was dangerously low.

_I’m getting tired of people telling me that._

She continued towards a light at the end of the corridor, pausing before it as you caught up to her again.

“He'll kill you both.” Toriel turned, grinning widely, yellow eyes flaring. “He promised he would, if I couldn’t.”

You were scared now.

“Who did?” you whispered, though you felt you already knew the answer.

Toriel laughed. ”It doesn’t matter. You won’t be leaving, my children. I’ll drag you back if I have to.”

With that, she conjured a fiery orb in her palm, and launched it towards you. You dodged as quickly as you could, smelling the singed fabric of your shirt’s hem. You stood your ground and looked at Toriel, who grinned back.

“You won’t fight back? My child, how do you suppose you’ll survive out there? Don’t you realize? Down here **it’s kill or be killed**.”

 

You clenched your jaw.

Toriel’s laughter filled the room as you desperately maneuvered through a new barrage of fire. The orbs came in waves, but you never raised a hand against her. But it was getting harder and harder to get away unscathed. You were tiring quickly, already having earned more than a few burns over your body.

“I’m sorry, Toriel.” you panted, “We have to keep going... “

She didn’t falter. Another set of flames came at you.

“I know they all say the same thing.” you tried. Toriel glanced at you curiously, the next orbs slowing a bit.

You pressed on. “The other humans. I’m sorry you had to see them all leave.” you looked up at her, and she had froze altogether, her face shadowed. The corridor fell quiet.

“I’m sorry you lost them.”

Then there were tears running down her face, falling to the floor. The flickering orbs of fire in her hands cackled, forgotten. She didn’t make a sound.

“They never understand.” Toriel finally said. “...They never realize what happens beyond this door. They don’t know how many have died.” Her paws clenched, and she shook.

“You’ll be eaten alive! Can’t you see?” Tears flew as Toriel spat the words at you, her yellow eyes desperate. “Do you want that? Your soul… removed? Torn? I’ve seen it happen-” a choked cry escaped her. “-six times before.”

Toriel quieted again, her shoulders racking with sobs. You stood with your fists clenched, feeling horrible that you had brought her to this. Flowey was still.

Then, slowly, you stepped forward. You wrapped your arms around Toriel and for a second, she didn’t move. But then you felt her paws on your back, pulling you in tightly. She pressed her head against yours and rocked you slowly. You closed your eyes.

“My child.” she said shakily.

Toriel held you both for a long time. You wanted to say something, anything, to show her she deserved love. But before you could, Toriel stood up. She started to say something, her eyes on the floor, but seemed to change her mind and whispered quietly,

“Be good, won’t you?”

And she left.

You stood in the silence for a minute before continuing through. Flowey was trying hard not to be heard, but you could hear him sniffling. Hugging your arms around him and the boot, you stepped out of the Ruins.

\--


	4. Something New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I've given up any hope of getting on a schedule. I'm just too hyped to share this with you guys. Guess who finally shows up (for real this time) in this chapter??

\--

You and Flowey found yourselves in a snowstorm. It was nighttime, but you weren’t sure exactly how it could be anything else but dark in the Underground. Not like this place had a spot in your reality, anyway.

You pulled your jacket around Flowey to shield him from the icy wind, and squinted into the darkness. There were trees on all sides of you, so you assumed you were on a cleared forest path. Hunching your shoulders against the cold, you walked forward. You were still missing a boot.

_I should’ve asked Toriel for a pair._

After a bit, you felt your foot catch on something, nearly sending you flying face-first into the snow. It was a large, fallen branch. Glancing up at the tall trees, you hoped one of those things wouldn’t end up on your head. You continued, watching the ground more closely this time. 

_**SNAP**_

Your heart jumped, and you spun around. Had something just broken that tree limb? Your breathing shallowed. What could’ve been strong enough to do that? That thing was thicker than your arm. You tried to see into the shadows, but couldn’t make anything out.

“J-just keep moving…” Flowey said fearfully.

You forced yourself to turn your back on whatever was behind you. You shivered, and not because of the cold. Something was stalking the two of you.

The rush of the wind was enough to cover the sound of your footsteps, but you had a feeling that wasn’t going to help anything. Despite the urge to get away as quickly as possible, you forced yourself to walk slowly. And after an eternity of silently hoping your next step wouldn’t be the last, you found yourself at a bridge. There was a wooden gate around it, but it looked like you would be able to fit through easily.

As you were about to test the bridge’s strength, you felt a chill run down your spine. Something was… behind you.

“Human.” a deep, gravelly voice sounded. “Don’t you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand.”

That voice. The voice from the nightmare.

_This is Sans._

You wanted to run, but your muscles wouldn’t let you. Panic was gripping your body, you were having trouble breathing. To your horror, you felt yourself slowly turning around. But you hadn’t moved.

_I’m being controlled._

You found yourself face to face with a pair of glowing, dark red eyes. It was him. It was the skeleton. His black eye sockets engulfed you, and the crimson pupils punctured but you couldn’t look away. He seemed to tower over you, a sadistic grin on his face. Then he held out a large, gloved hand, waiting for you to take it.

_He’s going to kill me._

Nothing moved for a long moment. But then you did the only thing you could think to do to end it. You shakily extended your arm, and before you could react, the skeleton grabbed your hand. A strong shock of electricity ran through you, and you felt like your heart had stopped. A cry escaped your mouth, and you jumped back yanking your hand back.

The skeleton started laughing. 

“Geez, kid” he said, “I can’t believe you fell for that. I guess you could say... I’m just as shocked as you are.” He held up his hand, showing off the electric buzzer attached to his fingerless gloves. His grin lengthened as he chuckled.

Your heart was still pumping, eyes wide. You didn’t dare glance down at Flowey, who was concealed beneath your jacket. The skeleton looked at you, wiping a non-existent tear away with one bony finger.

“Ah. So you’re human, huh? That’s… well, sad.”

He paused again to study you. You did nothing, still reeling from your nerves.

“My name is Sans, kid.” his voice threatened. “Care to share yours?” He narrowed his eyes, daring you not to answer him.

You mouth opened and closed. You couldn’t produce the words you needed. Sans sighed, his shoulders heaving.

“Not much for talking are you? That’s alright. Then let’s just get to the point.”

Your chest sank. Sans stepped towards you, holding a hand up. A ruby ball of vapor-like material formed above his palm. The same substance began flaming from his left eye. His grin widened even more as he looked at your expression.

“Now don’t be like that. We’ve been over this so many times before.”

You didn’t stop to think about his words before you broke into a run.

The skeleton watched as you fled. “Why do you always run?"

**-**

You ran straight towards the treeline, thinking you could lose him there. Dodging trees and low branches was proving difficult in the dark. You held Flowey tightly as you narrowly rounded a low hanging limb. Out of the periphery of your vision, something white and red flashed by.

“What was that?!” you gasped through your teeth.

Before you could think, another whizzed past, catching your hair. Was that… a bone?  You glanced back, only to see at least three more coming straight at you. You threw yourself to the right to dodge the projectiles, and cried out in pain as something tore into your side. Looking down, you saw a sharp tree branch, now embedded in the skin just below your ribcage.

_Holy shit._

You stopped, breathing hard and waiting for the pain. It came harder than you thought. It surged through you and brought you to your knees. You heard the branch crack beneath your weight, and you cried out again as it scraped upwards.

“Y/N! Are you okay?” Flowey poked his head up. “We have to keep going! He’s getting-”

A bone flew over your head, and you heaved yourself behind the tree, clutching your bleeding side. You gritted your teeth, blinked out hot tears and forced yourself up. The wound tore farther with the strain, but you stumbled forward, trying to swallow the pain. You lurched away from the source of the projectiles, clutching your ribs with one hand and steadying yourself on passing trees with the other.

“Kid, let’s not make this difficult.” you heard a low voice rumble through the forest.

_Damn it. Where is it coming from?_

Leaning against another tree, you peeked behind you, squinting through the blowing snow. A dark figure became visible at the branch you had impaled yourself on.

“You’ve really gone and hurt yourself, haven't you?” the figure observed, pausing a moment to reach down and touch a patch of blood-stained snow with his fingers. You shuddered when he brought the bloodied snow to his mouth, his red eyes flaring in your direction as he tasted it.

You turned, and hobbled away as quickly as you could. Dark laughter surrounded you, bounding from tree to tree. Your steps became sporadic as blood loss set in.

_Breathe. We’re breathing._

You couldn’t focus anymore. Your vision was blurring and you couldn’t feel your limbs. The boot you still had caught the ground and you fell, freezing snow hitting your face.

“Y/N!” Flowey cried, still tucked into the boot. “He’s-”

But you couldn’t hear him anymore.

-

“Where are you…” Sans muttered, following the dark stains of blood on the snow. This shouldn’t be too difficult now. He had heard you scream, which was new. You had never screamed before.

“Come on, I promise I don’t bite. At least not too-”

_oh._

Sans stopped, looking down at the crumpled human. They were on their side, pale hands clasped around something held to their chest. Blood was already pooling.

_ouch._

They had a boot tied around their neck. That was new too. Your hair covered your face as Sans leaned to look at you. He brushed it off your face with one finger, and froze. Your eyes were closed, mouth parted slightly as you breathed shallowly. The wind slowed down through the trees. Finally, Sans straightened, an odd look on his face.

_you’re a strange one, kid._

He stared for a second more,  wondering what to do. You had just ruined the little bit of fun he was having. An unconscious human wasn’t exactly as fun as a conscious one. Silently, Sans picked you up from the snow.

_let’s try something new._

**\--**


	5. Bleeding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! But now it's school break and I can stay up until 1 for the reasons I want to. 
> 
> -drabble-
> 
> This chapter was so freaking painful to write. I'm just realizing all the stuff that I'm going to have to address in Underfell. There's so much potential, and I really hope I'm giving it the justice it needs.
> 
> I know it seems that I'm revealing a lot about Sans and the timelines and everything right now, but that's because I need to go ahead and cover it before getting to the interesting stuff.
> 
> -end of drabble-
> 
> Ah, anyways. This is my job, not yours! And hey, you guys feel free to suggest things! I'm super cool with that and I know you guys have some great ideas out there.
> 
> Hope you enjoy.

\--

Papyrus wasn’t home when Sans walked through the front door. That was probably a good thing for now, the first thing he’d want to do was capture you anyway.  


Sans carried you into the kitchen, grabbing a towel before heading to the couch. He laid the towel down, and set you on top of it. It wasn’t going to prevent all the blood from getting on the cushions, but he wanted credit for trying. Untying the boot from around your neck, he told himself to remember to figure out what that was all about. That was another thing about this one; Sans couldn’t remember a boot around your neck in any of the previous timelines. He stood back, dropping the boot on the floor. Your expression was the same as it had been in the forest. It really threw him off. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen something so…

_lamblike._

Sans turned away. He needed to be careful with thoughts like that. Humans, especially this one, were dangerous. Not even killing her was enough, as Sans had found out the first couple runs. He needed a reset to make any progress. And that meant he needed to keep you alive.

“...and in relative proximity.” Sans grumbled to himself, recalling the bloody onslaught of past timelines when he had failed to do so. Sometimes it scared him, seeing how disconnected he was to those realities. But there was something about this one. You were different, back there in the forest.

So for now, he figured he should do something to stop your bleeding besides talk to himself. But it had been awhile since he’d given anyone medical attention, much less a human.

_there must be some bandages somewhere._

He found them in his brother’s room, the last place he looked. Sans usually tried not to touch Papyrus’s things but this seemed like a special case. He wondered why Papyrus would have bandages anyway. It wasn’t as if he got into much fighting. The Royal Guard was always preparing for it, but a human hadn’t showed up in years, along with any reason for battle. That just meant the Underground was getting restless. The King seemed to have given up as well. News from the castle had slowed, then stopped altogether. It was disconcerting at first, but Snowdin eventually adjusted to the independence. But some of the monsters became hostile to each other, waiting for the final human to come passing through from the ruins. Many left. Sans had stayed, mostly because he knew how much his brother wanted to be the one to bring the seventh soul to Asgore.

Papyrus would be home soon from his night shifts. Sans wondered how he would react to a half-dead human on the sofa. He knew his brother wouldn’t kill you, he never did. Despite how boastful he was about his strength, the truth was that he could never use it to end a life.

Sans unraveled the bandages, looking warily at you on his couch.  

_what am i going to do with you, kid?_

He wasn’t even sure why he had brought you here.

-

Figuring out how to wrap the bandages was the trial of Sans’s lifetime. Your wound was larger than he had previously thought, and he wasn’t exactly sure how to wrap it. He eventually resorted to putting his hands up underneath your shirt, lifting your back and feeding the bandage through as quickly as he could. It was, to say the least, degrading for someone of his reputation.  And the process took forever, blood seeping through each layer as soon as he wrapped it. Occasionally, he glanced at you to make sure you were still breathing.

Sans took his hands off you, and sighed, side-eyeing the wall. He shook his head, hoping that this hospitality wouldn’t come back to bite him. This really was a new set of circumstances, it seemed, and he had nothing to go on.

When he finally finished, he tied the bandage and straightened your shirt, then went to wash the blood off his hands.

Sans could’ve used basic transfer magic to heal you, if he had much health himself. Your best bet was in the fridge. Provided there was anything in it to begin with. Papyrus often kept his own creations in there, but Sans doubted any of those would be of help. They were barely edible even for non-humans.

But you were in luck. There was one slice of uneaten pie in the back corner of his side of the fridge. Sans grabbed a fork and went back into the living room. You were still asleep.

_i’m drawing the line at hand feeding you._

So he left it on the side table, hoping you’d be smart enough to figure it out.

-

You woke up shaking again.

The nightmare was different, and memories of it were fading fast. There was blood… and a scarf? No, it was really more like a cape. In the snow. You grabbed onto that image as the rest of the nightmare faded from your mind.

_Red cape. Red cape in the snow._

You opened your eyes slowly. It was dark. You couldn’t remember how you had gotten here… Wait, the forest.

_Sans._

You jolted up before you could stop yourself. Pain shot up from your side, and you yelped, slamming back down. You cursed under your breath and brought a hand up to hold your side. You felt a coarse fabric under your shirt. Bandages? Someone had… you groaned, holding a hand to your head. Someone had put their hands up your shirt… and-

You pushed the thought away. Where was Flowey? Had that skeleton brought you here? Why hadn’t he killed you? You couldn’t figure it out. He had been trying to kill you in the forest… only to bring you back and patch you up. Unless he had been toying with you out there. But you knew Sans would likely kill Flowey the second he saw him. Hopefully he had found a way to escape.

Not like any of that mattered. You knew you had to go find Flowey, but you wouldn’t get far in your state. And in this weather… You shot a look out the window behind the couch.

Eventually the pain subsided to a low throb, so you pulled yourself up, wincing. It was hard to see around, but you could make out the outlines of a small house. There was even a flat-screen TV. You had no idea monsters were so… equipped.

You stood  -too fast- and grabbed the arm of the sofa to steady yourself against the nausea. You needed to find Flowey. You hoped he wasn’t out there… freezing in the cold. You moved slowly towards the kitchen, hoping you wouldn’t encounter Sans..

The moment you stepped into the kitchen, the front door slammed open. You spun around.

“Brother.” A new voice boomed. “I-”

The voice cut short. Two red eyes flashed at you from the doorway. Light from a streetlamp illuminated your face, but your eyes had to adjust to the brightness. When they did, you found a tall skeleton staring down at you, his jaw open in shock. He wore black armor and a tattered, red cape.

_Red cape._

“...A human? In my kitchen?” The skeleton seemed incredulous.

“I- I… ” He narrowed his eyes, trying to regain composure. “This is the moment I have been waiting for.” He glared, baring his sharp teeth. “Human, get ready. This is where you die.”

He took a step towards you, conjuring a mass of red energy in his hand which melded to create an ivory bone, traces of red edging it. That was what San’s had attacked you with.

_Were these two…?_

You had more urgent matters at the moment. You backed up into the kitchen, still holding your side, prepared to dodge whatever was coming.

The skeleton aimed the bone like a javelin at your legs, and threw. You dodged easily, but your side sent stabbing pain through you. The cut had tore again, and fresh blood came through the gauze and shirt to wet your fingers.

You caught your breath, leaning against the counter with one hand.

“Don’t…” you winced. “Please.”

The skeleton paused, his eyes were still narrowed.

“What are you doing? Fight back!”

He threw another bone at you, which embedded itself in the cupboard near your shoulder before dissipating into red vapor.

You looked at him, breathing hard. Blood was dripping onto the linoleum. Suddenly, there was a whoosh of air and a hand on your shoulder.

You bristled.

“Hey, kid.”


	6. Word of Warning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sans's dialogue in the 4th line can be credited to superat626. They suggested it in the comments. Thank you! :)
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy!

\--

You spun around, backing away and into the fridge. Sans grinned at you from his seat on the counter, as if nothing was wrong at all.

_That’s impossible._

“I see you’ve already met Papyrus.” Sans observed casually.

His eyes turned to the drops of blood on the floor. “You know… I’m getting a little tired of cleaning up after you.” Sans threw you a glance.

“Sans! Don’t sit there, I must bring this human to Asgore!” The taller skeleton exclaimed.

“Sounds good, bro. Don’t let me interrupt.” Sans leaned back to rest his skull on the cupboard.

Papyrus sighed. “Fine.” He turned to face you. “I don’t need your help.”

He aimed another bone, again at your legs. You weren’t sure if you’d be able to dodge this. It came at you, and you jumped aside. It caught the side of your knee, burning as it scraped your skin. You cried out, grabbing onto the counter for support again. Blood loss was making your head swim again.

_God damn it._

Spots of black crossed your vision, and you felt suddenly exhausted. You fell heavily to your knees.

Papyrus’s arms fell to his sides. “Are you- giving up? Humans are weaker than I thought.”

He came to tower over you, picking you clear off the ground by the scruff of your shirt. You held as still as you could, too exhausted to be as scared as you should’ve been.

Papyrus looked at you quizzically, then looked over his shoulder at his brother. “Sans, what is wrong with this human?”

Sans hopped off the counter. “Heh heh… sorry about that, bro. I found her wandering around the Ruins. I might’ve roughed her up a little too much.”

_A little._

You furrowed your eyebrows at the grinning skeleton, eyes hazy with a throbbing pain. Sans just smiled. Papyrus didn’t respond, frowning as he watched blood spatter onto the floor. You were fading fast. Your eyes closed.

“Hey, bro,” you heard Sans say, “still planning to take them to Asgore?”

The taller skeleton watched as your arms fell limply to your sides. He faltered. “Yes,” Papyrus eventually sighed. “I suppose.”

Sans studied his brother. It hadn’t taken him long to get all conflicted this time.

“Yeah…” Sans continued. “Well, maybe you should wait. There’s a bad storm coming. They were talking about it down at Grillby’s. Said the Core was acting up a little.”

Papyrus looked at his brother, then back to the unconscious human. “That may be best.” He found himself saying.

Sans was quiet for a second. “We’ll get them there when it passes.” His brother was still watching you, quiet.

_but it never passes._

Papyrus carried you out of the kitchen to set you back down on the couch. It seemed no one really knew what to do with you. If you died, Papyrus could just take your soul back to Asgore, but… something felt wrong. It was unfair, how weak you were.

The caped skeleton turned away, frustrated. Sans was watching him from the dining table.

“We’ll keep them here until the storm passes.” Papyrus repeated. And with that, he left upstairs to his room.

Sans stayed. He couldn’t believe you were already getting to his brother. He came over to you, noticing the pie left on the coffee table. Sighing, Sans nudged your shoulder.

“Kid. Hey, wake up. You need to eat… Can’t have you dying just yet. Not on my couch, either.”

Your eyelids fluttered, your face twisting in discomfort again. Sans pushed you upright, and grabbed the plate of pie.

“Here. Would you just- ”

You were unconscious again. Sans was getting impatient with all this. He took hold of your arm, magic flaming around his fingertips. You jumped, crying out.

“Figured that would work.” Sans said, taking hold of your shoulder to keep you still.

You looked at him through half-lidded eyes which widened as your barely-conscious mind remembered who he was. You pressed yourself into the couch, away from his grip.

“You’re gonna have to learn to control that fear of yours, kiddo. I’m not even trying right now.” Sans said, pushing the plate into your lap. ”Just eat this and I’ll leave you alone.”

You held the plate in both hands, looking down at it in slight defeat. Your stomach really wasn’t feeling up to it right now. All you wanted was sleep. The hand on your shoulder squeezed, hard, and you jolted again.

“Don’t test me.” Sans threatened, voice low. His eyes were a deep red again.

You squirmed, and lifted the fork up weakly. The skeleton stood back, keeping an intense gaze on you. Your hands shook, but you brought a small bite up to your mouth. It didn’t taste half-bad, but your senses weren’t in optimal condition at the moment. You chewed slowly, finding yourself actually savouring the taste of butterscotch. When you swallowed, it felt like your body had begun to vibrate. You dropped the fork, feeling a strong tingling sensation in your side.

Sans almost laughed at your expression. “It’s magic. It’ll heal you.” he explained, turning away.  The pain had already become duller as your wound prickled.

You stared up at Sans and he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “You can sleep here for now, kid.”

Then, he leaned in, fanged teeth glinting close. Your blood ran cold as you stared into his eye sockets. They were empty, black, and consuming. His voice was a deadly whisper.

“ _ **And don’t think of running away**_.”

There was a click, and he was gone. You were frozen, goosebumps all along your arms. This whole thing was completely unfair. What chance did you have against teleportation?

You brooded for a second, but decided to be happy you were still alive. Well, sort of. You looked down at your side. The initial buzz had worn off, but as you ate more of the pie, you felt yourself feeling better and better. The plate was soon empty. You gingerly pressed your fingertips to your side, feeling for the wound. Nothing. You smiled, no longer tired.

_That’s amazing._

You stood up. There was still a large, wet bloodstain on your shirt, and your hands, and the couch. You almost felt bad, but then you remembered why you had been bleeding in the first place.

You stood around for awhile, not exactly wanting to go to sleep after that ordeal with Sans. And Flowey was still out there somewhere in the cold. You exhaled, picking up the plate and fork and carrying it to the kitchen, stepping quietly. There was quite a bit of blood on the floor, yet to dry. You set the plate down, and looked around for paper towels. Finding some, you wet one under the sink, and started wiping up the bloodstains. Maybe this would get you closer to their good sides.

_Yeah, then we can have family movie night, share some popcorn and play a great game of Sorry. “Sorry for almost reducing you to a pulp the other day, Y/N.”_

You were done. Throwing away the napkin, you went back to your designated place on the sofa. There was still a mess on it, but you didn’t much care at that point. You spread out the towel that had been balled up between the cushions, and laid down for sleep.

Sleep came quick, but so did the nightmares.


	7. Driven to Drink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so sorry for the wait. There's really no excuse.  
> WARNINGS: This chapter contains drugs, they may be magic, but they're still drugs. Don't do them!

\--

Sans woke up to screaming.

He was downstairs in a second, pressing a hand to your mouth and using his magic to silence you. Your screams cut off, but you startled, pushing away and falling ever-so-gracefully over the arm of the couch. Sans straightened, his eyes narrowed.

“Do you want the whole town on our doorstep, kid?” He asked, the red magic around his hands dissipating into the air.

Your heart pounded as you looked up at him. “Ah, I’m- I’m sorry, it was a nightmare and I-”

“Just be quiet.” Sans held up a hand. “If you can’t handle that, I’m sure I can find something around here to keep that mouth of yours shut.” He stared down on you, completely serious.

You furrowed your eyebrows and got up off the floor. “I’ll be fine.” you quipped, a little annoyed. “It was just a nightmare.”

You met Sans’s eyes. He had a grin back on his face, and was staring back. You refused to break eye contact, despite the uneasiness turning in your gut. Neither of you moved for a long time. His eyes took on a dark glint, and his grin stretched with each passing moment.

_This is ridiculous._

But you kept up, setting your jaw. It was getting hard to look at the sadistic look on Sans’s face. It brought back memories of the nightmare you had the first night. How was it even possible for you to have dreamt of someone you’d never met before? Not that anything that had happened tonight seemed possible. Nevertheless, this whole thing felt familiar in a strange way; like you had watched it all unfold before.

You let the thoughts drift off, getting back to your little stand-off. Your opponent was holding steady, and his face was becoming more than its usual level of offsetting. Deep in the blackness of Sans’s eye socket, you saw that same dark shade of red. Your stomach knotted up and panic suddenly flashed through your body, and you were yanked back into that nightmare. The bruising grip around your wrists, the iron-hot pressure cutting into your esophagus…

You tore your eyes away from Sans, a hand coming up to rub at your throat as you took in deep breaths. Sans let out a chuckle, savouring your defeat before turning to the kitchen.

“Sweet dreams, kid.” he concluded with a wink over his shoulder. Chills ran up your arms.

Moments like that reminded him of why he kept going. Seeing that fear on your face had become his primary source of entertainment in this hellscape. It didn’t matter if you were different this time, more innocent. It made it sweeter.

Sans walked into the kitchen, smiling to himself. He expected to find the same bloody mess from earlier, but it wasn’t there. The floor looked cleaner than it had ever been. Sans’s grin turned down as he looked around the spotless kitchen.

_they’ve already started._

It wouldn’t be long before you were in tight with his brother… and moving on to larger prospects. Sans flashed back to the first time you had done that. A pacifist run. Sans headed to the fridge, cursing under his breath. He hadn’t done this in awhile, but it seemed he would need it to get any sleep. Before you had woken him, he’d been involved in a similar bout of night terrors.

Crammed between the fridge and the wall was a bottle of solution Grillby had given him a long time ago. It was a narcotic. Sans grabbed the bottle, bit off the top and took a swig before he could taste it. The magic immediately absorbed through his bones, but would take awhile before really settling in. It left a bitter aftertaste, but warded off the nightmares better than anything he’d tried before. You weren’t getting any. The stuff would probably kill you, anyway.

Sans closed his eyes against the familiar buzz spreading through him. It was strange that you were having nightmares in this timeline, but it wasn’t like he paid attention to your sleeping habits in the previous timelines. Yeah, he had been more inclined to smash your body into the door of the Ruins until your soul fragmented. It was all with due cause, though. It wouldn’t have been as much of a problem if you had just completed another genocide run. But you chose to kill his brother that time. You didn’t even touch the other monsters. Papyrus fought you, as usual, eventually and reluctantly sparing you after bringing you to the edge of death. Then, you shoved a knife through his soul.

Sans had been watching, hidden, but it happened too fast. He saw the look on your face as his brother dissolved. You had smiled, then turned to him with a look that said: “I know.” You’d known what you were doing. Even if you could reset, and Papyrus would live again, you had still done it. You were toying with him. Your face told Sans that it was all a game to you, that he had never been in control. And well, he had an issue with that.

But he didn’t kill you, not then. It was harder to hold back after the grief had been swallowed, and the true sense of lost control set in. But Sans managed, and before you faced Asgore, he left you with one promise.

“come back again and i’ll kill you.”

So he had. Each time you walked out of the Ruins, he was there, sending you back. You’d never been able to get past him. Not until tonight. There was no doubt it was different. When you had walked through those doors, he had barely recognized you. But now, he was remembering. You were familiar, somehow-

Something shattered. Sans snapped back to the kitchen, finding the bottle he’d been holding broken on the floor.

_shit._

He listened for the sound of Papyrus’s footsteps; that could have woken him, even if your screams hadn’t. But it was silent. Sans sighed and raised a hand. The clear liquid was spreading gradually across the floor but came to a stop and lifted into the air with the shards of glass. Manipulating liquid was tedious, but Sans managed without a hitch. The mess ended up in the sink, the spoiled mixture swirling down the drain. Sans was going to miss that later. He could already feel his thoughts becoming null with the amount he had been able to get down.

Sans heard shuffling. He turned to find you peering around the corner, concern on your face.

“I heard something break.” you said quietly.

“Don’t worry about it.” Sans growled, moving past you into the living room. You followed.

“You should get some sleep.” he said, his back to you. Then his voice dropped. “ _You’re going to need your energy_.”

You watched as he walked up the stairs. The words bounced around in your head, raising yet another round of goosebumps.

_So much for a bedtime story._


End file.
